Featured Database

The ERIC collection includes bibliographic records, with extensive abstracts, for more than 1.2 million items indexed since 1966, including journal articles, books, research syntheses, conference papers, technical reports, policy papers, and other education-related materials. ERIC currently indexes more than 600 journals. In addition, contributors have given ERIC permission to display more than 115,000 full-text materials in PDF format. These materials are generally part of the recent "grey literature" such as conference papers and reports, rather than journal articles and books. Older ERIC documents that are not free on the web are available on microfiche, but must be recalled from storage.

Please note limited availability of full-text: ERIC has had to disable access to many full text PDFs due to security issues. ERIC is currently re-scanning and replacing documents online.

Walter Havighurst Special Collections Current Exhibit

Stories from people who were children during World War II and the objects in this exhibit animate the past and inform us of a time when war took over daily life. “Retrospect is a very interesting thing,” says Ruthie Kallnder. “At the time I don’t recall any of the information we got as being propaganda,” but the government tried to influence children to make “necessary” sacrifices. Propagandists made the war a battle between good and evil, democracy and fascism. They also asked children to share in the war effort. In response, many children took on more responsibilities. Ruthie explains that boys and girls felt “if that’s what it was going to take” to win they “were willing to do it.” The memories of the people in this exhibit and their wartime actions show the power of propaganda’s messages and its lasting affect on their lives. Propaganda posters, children’s books, and classroom assignments demonstrate how propagandists reached children and involved them in the national war effort.